Out on the Landing
by runaway ballista
Summary: CGH; Genma might not care about his own birthday, but Hayate wants to do something -- anything -- to make it special. GenHaya.


This is a fic I wrote quite a while ago -- I finished it back in July 2007 and I only recently realized I had never posted it. It was originally a birthday fic -- not only for Genma, but also for my dear Penbrydd, whose birthday falls just ten days after Genma's. It's old now, but I hope you can enjoy it.�

**Out on the Landing**

Genma only occasionally remembered his own birthday, let alone expected other people to remember it. Raidou usually tossed him a congratulations and the occasional small gift -- mostly in the form of sharing copious amounts of alcohol -- and, well, it was usually a damn near miracle if Aoba remembered to put his pants on straight in the morning. If he remembered Genma's birthday any less than a month late, Genma might have been suspicious that it wasn't Aoba at all, but rather a spy in a clever henge.

Hayate, though, was something else entirely. The kid hardly ever made a fuss about his own birthday, but he seemed to remember Genma's just as surely as he remembered to take his medication throughout the day. More than that, he seemed to feel the need to actually _do_ something about it when Genma had made it fairly clear, he thought, that he didn't give a shit what Hayate did for his birthday as long as the kid kept smiling for him. As far as he was concerned, one of those pathetic little smiles, reserved just for him, was more than enough of a birthday present.

The kid hardly listened, of course. As a matter of fact, last year on Genma's twenty-third birthday, the kid had gone so far as to organize a dinner at the pub with the usual crowd -- Kotetsu, Izumo, Aoba, and Raidou -- and he'd even tried to get the waitstaff to surprise Genma by singing to him, but they'd refused. Hayate had settled for getting the whole table to sing as Genma emerged from the bathroom, still zipping his pants up. He'd stopped just short of the table, staring at first in confusion -- was he hearing right? -- then in surprise. And Hayate had just sat there the whole time, smiling -- grinning, even, if a bit shyly. Genma couldn't think of anything to do in that moment except grab the kid and kiss him proper, because that, he thought, was one of the sweetest and most thoughtful things anyone had ever tried to do for him.

And somehow Genma had gotten into his head that that was it -- that the little surprise for his twenty-third had more or less satiated Hayate's need to do something on his birthday. But standing in Hayate's room on the seventeenth of July a year later, leaning casually against the loaded bookshelf, he was beginning to feel that that wasn't the case. Normally he wouldn't have really even realized it was his birthday, but the kid had been dropping not-so-subtle hints for the past two weeks, and Genma had chanced to glance at the calendar that morning after rolling out of bed. He was fairly certain that it wasn't _quite_ a coincidence that Hayate had very specifically asked for him on his birthday. Hayate just didn't work like that.

But Genma didn't say a word, just waited patiently until Hayate finished rooting around in the dusty old box and finally sat up, sneezing violently. Genma's hands twitched, but he knew better. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stayed put.

"Here it is," came the half-mumbled phrase, words Genma was fairly sure weren't really intended for him, and his eyes flickered down to his small lover as the kid -- he was getting to be less and less of a kid as the years wore on, Genma noted, and it almost saddened him -- straightened up, something clutched in his pale, thin hands. Genma squinted at it and blinked blandly.

Hayate looked a little sheepish, embarrassed even, as he held up the worn plush toy in his hands. "Um..."

Genma just cocked an eyebrow, waiting for Hayate to continue.

The kid coughed, his fingers tightening slightly around the toy in his hands. It was in the shape of a rabbit, about several inches tall. Kind of cute, really. "This, um..." Hayate looked down at it. "My mom gave this to me a long time ago," he started, entirely awkwardly. "The first time I had to stay in the hospital. I was two, I think. I, um. I don't really know why it's pink -- I know it's kind of girly, but, um..." He faltered for a moment, and there was nothing in the background but silence, so he kept going. "Anyway, um, my mom bought this for me. So I wouldn't get too lonely, because she couldn't be with me the whole time. I don't really remember, but uh...I guess I'm allergic to whatever's inside it, so I couldn't keep it with me. But it never got thrown away, and then I didn't want to throw it away. Um. I know it's probably kind of dumb, but even though it's something that I could never really keep at my side, it's still important to me, and, um -- this is probably really stupid and lame, and, uh..." He held the plush toy out, feeling far more childish than he'd really expected or intended. "Here."

Genma didn't quite move so much as he did just plain stare for a good long moment. And then he laughed. Not a quiet little chuckle, but not quite a full-blown knee-slapper, either -- just enough to make Hayate feel like he'd made a complete idiot of himself. He pulled his hands back, coughing uncomfortably, and moved to drop the plush bunny back in the box. "Never mind," he muttered. "Stupid and lame and childish. Um. Sorry."

"Hey --" Genma reached out to stop him, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him upright. "Hey, I never said I wouldn't _take_ it."

Hayate looked at him sulkily. "If you're just going to laugh at me --"

"Hey, hey." Genma swallowed the last of his laughter, if only to make the kid feel better. "I'm sorry. Hey, I wasn't laughing because I thought it was stupid or lame or childish. I just...it's cute, all right? Fucking sappy, too, but I think we can both laugh at that." He put his hands over Hayate's, fingers touching on the plush toy, and tried for an encouraging, reassuring grin. Hayate fidgeted uncomfortably. Genma shook his head and leaned over to drop a kiss on Hayate's forehead. The kid was getting bigger -- big enough that Genma hardly had to stoop to kiss him now.

"Hey, it's cute. You're cute. It works." Genma kept the lazy grin up. "Don't sulk now and ruin a perfectly good birthday. I know you think it's stupid and lame, and hey, maybe it is, kind of, but I still like it. Because it's from you, and as far as I'm concerned, anything you want to give me is worth more than a handful of S-ranked missions." Dropping his head a little lower to kiss Hayate lightly on the lips, he gently wrestled the plush toy from Hayate's thin fingers with his own. He held up the bunny at shoulder level, half-smirking. "Look, I love it, see?" He cuddled it to his chest in a grossly exaggerated fashion, still grinning like an idiot. Hayate couldn't help but laugh quietly, even if nervously. Genma reached over to ruffle Hayate's hair, but changed his mind mid-reach and hooked his arm around the kid's neck, pulling him in for a snuggle of his own. Hayate squirmed slightly, but didn't protest.

"Convinced yet?" Genma asked, raising an eyebrow down at Hayate. The kid wrinkled his nose slightly.

"Yeah. Um..." Hayate turned his face into Genma's shoulder to cough, so he wouldn't cough right into Genma's face. Then he wriggled a little in Genma's loose grip, turning his face back up, and pressed a light kiss to Genma's mouth. "Happy birthday," he mumbled. Genma just gave a breathy smile against Hayate's mouth and pulled him right back into the kiss -- close-mouthed at first, but no less passionate than any other kisses they generally shared. He did, however, have the decency to turn the plush rabbit's face away from them as he ran his tongue lightly across Hayate's lower lip -- there were certain things that plush bunnies, however aged, should never be privy to.


End file.
